It’s believed that Shorty Tang, who emigrated from Sichuan to Taipei to New York, made the best sesame noddles. His unique style of using peanut butter, sesame paste along with chili oil with sugar was amazing. You could find them all over New York City in the 1970s and ’80s. It’s still served at Hwa Yuan, the restaurant in Manhattan’s Chinatown. I always love some easy & quick recipes to make mealtime a little simpler. These Street Style Sesame Noodles definitely fall in that category. When you think of noodles, you always assume noodles with all colorful veggies. So when I tried it the first time, I was a bit skeptical as to how this would taste. As it has no veggies or sauces and on the contrary, it is made using peanuts & sesame. But believe me, once you try it, you’ll want to make it again and again. Sometimes, simpler food tastes way better than complicated food that requires a whole lot of ingredients. This is one of those dishes that you can enjoy as it is or with some flavored Tofu or Cauliflower. You can make Street Style Sesame Noodles with any noodles you like. But in my opinion, wheat/buckwheat noddles will work best for this recipe. Some people also use Linguine/Spaghetti. The main difference is Spaghetti is rolled and cut whereas noddles are stretched or extruded into long strips or strings. My favorite varieties that you can use :
Soba - This is the Japanese variety of noodles that is made of buckwheat flour or a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours. It has a slightly nutty, earthy taste with a slightly darker color. It can be served chilled, thereby making a great choice for this recipe. It’s thinner than Udon noddles. Udon - Another popular Japanese noodle is Udon. They are thick and made using wheat flour. Udon can be served cold also but they are most famous for hot noodle soups.
Step 1- Cook the Noodles: You can cook the noodles in an Instant Pot or on the Stove-Top. I have made noodles in an Instant Pot. Add noodles and 1 cup of water and pressure cook in an Instant Pot. Step 2 - Whisk the Sauce: Meanwhile, as noodles are cooking, I like to prepare the sauce by whisking all the ingredients until well combined in a bowl. Step 3 - Cool the noodles: Once noodles are prepared, strain the water out (if remaining). Noodles may stick a little, wash them in cold water, and separate noodles if sticking. Toss them with some sesame oil. Step 4- Combining Noodles with Sauce: Combine the noodles with the prepared sauce and toss some green onions with some chopped peanuts and toasted sesame seeds. You can get Thai based Peanut Sauce from the store or make a fresh batch at home. Either way, Street Style Sesame Noodles are irresistible. The fresh sauce tastes better and you can find all the ingredients in your pantry. In a bowl, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame paste or tahini, peanut butter, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and chili oil. Once whisked, just combine the sauce with the noodles.
CHILI GARLIC NOODLES SINGAPORE NOODLES THAI CURRY NOODLES VEGAN LENTIL BOLOGNESE MUSHROOM & GARLIC SPAGHETTI
📖 RECIPE CARD
